Department of Health and Social Care

Cardiovascular System: Diseases

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date he plans to launch CVDPrevent.

Jo Churchill: The CVDPREVENT data extraction will occur in autumn 2020 with the initial reporting outputs from Public Health England expected in spring 2021. NHS England and NHS Improvement have published further information on CVDPREVENT at the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/clinical-policy/cvd/cvdprevent/

Vaccination: Older People

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage older people to attend primary care services to receive vaccinations.

Jo Churchill: Throughout the COVID-19 response, general practices (GPs) have been encouraged to continue to deliver as much routine and preventative work as can be provided safely, including vaccinations and screening appointments, as well as supporting their more high-risk patients with ongoing care needs. GPs re-opened fully from 1 July to patients who should now be able to access services by phone, online or in person.GPs are expected to actively offer patients aged 70 years and over the shingles vaccine. There is also a catch-up programme available for individuals aged 78 or 79 years and the programme has been extended to include individuals who may have turned 80 years during lockdown. Where feasible and where vaccine stock is available, GPs were also advised to seek to identify and offer Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV23) to those eligible.

Coronavirus: Passive Smoking

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of more people eating and drinking outside as a result of covid-19 lockdown restrictions on the number of people being exposed to passive smoking; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: No assessment has been made on the number of people being exposed to passive smoking while eating and drinking outside as a result of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

Health: North East

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle regional health inequalities in the North East.

Jo Churchill: Holding answer received on 21 July 2020



Health inequalities are associated with the conditions in which people live. In challenging circumstances, Public Health England (PHE), NHS England and NHS Improvement and the North East Directors of Public Health are working to improve these conditions and are committed to supporting the regional economies.The Health and Social Care Act 2012 requires health bodies and local government to have due regard to reducing health inequalities and this is embedded throughout the NHS Long Term Plan. This can be viewed at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/

Influenza: Vaccination

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to announce which at-risk groups will be eligible for the 2020 NHS flu vaccine.

Jo Churchill: The flu vaccination programme will be a critical part of preparing the United Kingdom for winter and as part of our planning should we see co-circulation of flu and COVID-19.On 14 May we published the Annual Flu letter 2020/21 which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/national-flu-immunisation-programme-2020-2021.pdfThis indicated the main groups who are eligible for free flu vaccination. Further details will be published on our plans for the flu season soon.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans (a) NHS England, (b) NHS Improvement and (c) the British Medical Association’s General Practice Committee have to review the coverage of mental health care in the Quality and Outcomes Framework during 2020-21; and what steps the voluntary sector can take to contribute to that review.

Jo Churchill: Changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) are agreed as part of wider amendments to the General Medical Services Contract. These changes are negotiated by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee (GPC) England. NHS England and NHS Improvement and GPC England have agreed to an ongoing programme of indicator review in key priority areas, including mental health in 2020/21.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing potential indicators on anxiety and depression suitable for use in the QOF. Indicators are open to consultation with stakeholders. Stakeholders can register their interest with NICE via indicators@nice.org.uk